The Worm Has Turned
by Sidhbh
Summary: Apologies to Due South and Judy Dench. This was written tongue in cheek. Just an idea in my head about how the Doctor's companions have to deal with face and identity changes maybe it was his turn. Rose comes to Torchwood - not the one in Pete's World. AU


"Martha!" Jack gave her a warm hug as soon as she arrived. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

Martha gave him a sympathetic smile as soon as he released her. "I'm sorry, Jack. But my bosses were wondering if you could help us."

"With what?"

Martha shrugged. "All they'll tell me is: they keep hearing things about 'Rose Tyler' and 'The Rift' and… God, Jack! I mean, I was with The Doctor!"

"Need some respect!" Jack sympathised.

"Exactly! Look, the upshot of it is: we need Rose Tyler."

"The Doctor doesn't like it when we hop universes, Martha."

Martha took a file out of her case and handed it to him. "I guess what The Doctor wants isn't exactly a priority." Jack opened the file. "You know her better than I do… take care of her for me?"

Jack looked up at her and smiled. "Of course I will."

Martha beamed back. "Thanks, Jack. I'll bring her round tomorrow, ok?"

Jack's smile grew. Most others would have simply brought her round and left them to deal with the consequences. "Ok, Martha Jones."

* * *

Jack smiled at the young woman who trailed behind Marta, apparently nervous about the grand total of three people having their attention on her. Jack helped in the way he knew best. "Rose!" he went to her, capturing her in a hug.

"Hi, Jack," was her muffled response.

Jack let her go and stepped back to look at her properly. "You look good. You and I, we should go dancing sometime."

Rose smiled shyly. "Yeah, ok." She nodded.

Jack nodded encouragingly before indicating the others. "My team - Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones." They greeted her warmly. "Well, now that's over, how about we get some work done?" There were a few noncommittal murmurings.

"Look I'd better go," Martha said. "Call me, if you need anything, ok?"

Rose smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks. Very much." They hugged, though a bit awkwardly, and Martha left.

* * *

"Ok! I promise! No more trips through the Rakmyr Nebula!" The Doctor cried out, flicking this switch and that, all the while the TARDIS was having none of it. "No, I won't go back on my promise once you do what I tell you." She was sceptical. "Ok, tell you what: we'll refuel." She cooperated. "You just have a crush on Jack, don't you?" he muttered. The TARDIS did not refute this charge.

Given she was in one of her 'moods', The Doctor decided it was best to leave her to her recharge while he did a little of his own. Nearest tea shop. Ah! He walked over, hands in his pockets. He spotted a local newspaper and bought it, and getting his tea, he sat down where he could see the TARDIS.

'TORCHWOOD PULLS ANOTHER ONE OUT OF THE FIRE!' So much for that Retcon stuff they use. The Doctor wondered why they even bothered with it anymore. He read the article and almost spilled the tea he was sipping. 'Rose Tyler'. What? He looked over at the TARDIS. What?

He raced over to it and checked his scanners. The TARDIS grumbled slightly until he showed her the paper. "Everything looks fine," he puzzled. "I suppose it's possible that there's another Rose Tyler - but in Torchwood?"

A knock came at the door. That must be Jack. Complete with explanation. The door opened without him moving. "Doctor!" He glared up at the TARDIS before turning to Jack in time to suffer his hug.

"Hello, Jack," he smiled at the fifty-first century man. A couple of his Torchwoods were hovering by the door, a little intimidated by the incongruent spatial dynamics. "I have questions."

"Oh?" Jack asked innocently, which instantly made The Doctor go 'aha!' in his mind. He looked over at the paper he found, which made Jack snatch it immediately. "Well, uh… you know, we missed one."

"Uh, huh."

"Hey… why don't we go to my office… uh… catch up?"

"Why don't we, Jack?" The TARDIS sounded disappointed. The Doctor frowned up at it. "I thought you were charging," he retorted.

Jack grinned. "I'll visit soon," he told her. Apparently, this was enough to mollify her.

"We've only spent a few centuries together," The Doctor huffed at her. TARDIS thrummed an agreement at him. Her rhythm turned suggestive. The Doctor pointed an accusing finger at Jack. "You're a bad influence!"

"Come on!" he pulled at The Doctor and waved at the TARDIS as they left. "Hi, Gwen, Ianto, you remember The Doctor?"

The Doctor waved dismissively, not to be distracted from his target. "Jack, what about Rose?"

"Listen, Doctor, we've got to talk, uh…" he interrupted himself, a hand going to his ear. "Yeah? The taxman?" he went white. "Sorry, Doctor! I gotta, I gotta take care of this. You know what the taxman is like. But we've got to talk, ok? Stick around." With that, he rushed off, leaving him with Ianto and Gwen.

"Well, uh…" Gwen began awkwardly. "Would you like some of Ianto's coffee? He makes some really good coffee."

"Oh! Yes. Yes, I do."

Put out that he was left like that, taxman or no, The Doctor shrugged. Taking that as a yes, the pair guided him to the lift. When Gwen attempted to explain about the other people not seeing them, The Doctor stopped her with a muttered 'perception filter'. He looked at her critically. "Huh."

"What?"

"Genetics. Funny thing," he shrugged. "I've met your ancestor." He gave her a silly grin. He stepped off the lift and turned to them. "So. Rose?"

"Rose?" Ianto repeated. "Rose Tyler?"

"Yes," The Doctor agreed slowly as if to a child. "Rose. Rose Tyler. Where is she?"

"Didn't Jack say something about 'alternate universes'?" Gwen asked Ianto.

"I believe he did," Ianto agreed before the pair of them split off in separate directions.

"Oh!" The Doctor clenched his jaw in frustration. He followed Ianto. He grabbed a paper from a nearby table.

Ianto used the coffee machine to ignore The mad Doctor. In response, The Doctor moved up to him and put the article under his nose. "I know. They spelt my name with a 'Y'."

The Doctor poked a finger at the name he was interested in. "Rose. Rose Tyler! Where is she?"

Ianto picked up the finished coffee and turned around to face The Doctor. "My speciality?" The Doctor glared at the cup. "Try the archives," he sighed. The Doctor took off. Ianto looked at the coffee and sipped it himself. "Perfect, if I do say so myself."

* * *

The Doctor arrived in the archives. Apparently, that was the place that Gwen had chosen to find shelter. "Ms Cooper!"

Gwen looked at him. "Didn't you like the coffee?" she asked.

The Doctor shoved the paper at her. "Rose. Rose Tyler. Where. Is. She?"

"Did you try the office?"

"I was just…!"

"Well, she's not here, is she? No point getting angry with me, love!"

The Doctor let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine!" He whirled around and stalked out. Gwen couldn't help a little giggle at his expense. The Great Doctor.

The Doctor arrived back in the pit in front of Jack's office. To his surprise, he found her. It was certainly shaped like a woman. "Rose?"

She turned around and gave him a big smile. "Doctor!" she moved up and gave him a big hug before immediately letting him go and picking up a nearby file. "How are things in the outer spaces?"

"Outer space, you mean?"

"Yeah, lording about time and space, huh?" she didn't stop and headed for Ianto, making The Doctor trail after her. "Ianto! Any luck with the statue? I was thinking gold leaf because the pure stuff won't last and it would be in a suit and tie with you holding a balance with in your hand, weights on one side, coffee beans in the other, a serene look on your face. What do you think?"

"I think you should carry on," Ianto replied, trying not to be flattered and not succeeding. "Or I'll tell Jack you've been worshipping me again."

"I was thinking of making your birthday a national holiday."

Ianto presented her with her prize - coffee with Smarties in it. "Move on, Rose."

Rose? "No, no, no!" The Doctor spoke up, even as Rose took off again, weaving through computers, picking up things, sorting them and adding it to the pile. "Look, there's some kind of mistake or misunderstanding here. I'm looking for Rose."

Finally, Rose slowed enough to pay him some attention. "Uh, huh."

"Rose Tyler?"

"You've talked to Jack, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Good! Then we're on the same page! I'm glad you're back, Doctor, because things haven't been the same without you!"

"Obviously!" Rose moved on again, making The Doctor trail after her if he was to keep up.

"I bet you want to know why!"

"Oh, yes! Yes, I definitely want to know why!"

She put her arm around him. "Look across history, what do you see?"

A whole lot. "Any period in particular."

"The whole thing, Doctor! The whole thing! What you see over and over is: duets. Ok?" She entered Jack's office, the man himself still stuck arguing on the phone. Rose dropped several files to his desk and picked up a couple for herself. She closed the door behind her. She shook her head at The Doctor. "A little tiny leak and ok, we expect the scolding but the taxman? That's just cold."

"Well, yeah…"

"Anyway," Rose continued before The Doctor could go on. "History. Think about it! Lennon and McCartney, Leopold and Loeb, not the Chuckle Brothers though, forget about them. I tried, I did, but not funny. Anyway, I think you know what I'm talking about."

"Not a clue," The Doctor admitted honestly.

"Partners, Doctor! Partners! Gwen! Got that stuff from the archives?"

"Who are you?"

"Quit kidding around, Doctor. You know who I am!"

"No kidding! Serious face, here!"

"Here you go, Rose," Gwen handed her the files she wanted.

The Doctor looked at Gwen, completely befuddled, as she grinned at him and disappeared back to her office. "Look. I'm sorry. But I don't forget faces. It's a gift of mine and I'm fairly confident that you and I, me and you, neither of us have ever met. Ever. Ever, ever! Where is Rose?"

Rose pulled out her id and pointed to it. "Rose Tyler. Torchwood. Everybody knows who I am, Doctor, how 'bout you?" Before The Doctor could respond, her phone started singing 'Ghostbusters'. "Rose Tyler. Yeah, dressed up like the boy who never grew up? For you."

A little disturbed that they'd use Rose's phone to call him, The Doctor took it from her. "TARDIS giving you a hard time?" a man's voice came on the other side. "Never mind, you could always stay with your 'friend', Rose."

The Doctor looked solemnly at the stranger. "I'm not sure she is my friend."

"Oh, well, that's ok, then. No need to worry about that electric blanket making her home all nice and toasty. London's burning." He rang off.

The Doctor handed back her phone. "I have no idea who you are but if you insist on being Rose, that caller just told me that your mother's flat's about to burn down."

"Let's go," she said, already moving. Jack was just coming out. "Gotta go, Jack! House on fire!"

"Ok!"

"We'll take the TARDIS," he told her. He opened the door, knowing full well she didn't have a key and why was that a question? He watched her reaction to the inside of his ship.

She hesitated, but to her credit, only for her second. She made it as far as the middle of the room before looking up at console. "Hello. Uh… London? Please?"

No one ever asked her to go somewhere. Not so nicely. The TARDIS immediately complied, with The Doctor having to do very little. The Doctor looked at her. "Why did you ask her?" he asked curiously.

"Shouldn't I have? Seemed the thing to do." She dipped her head, embarrassed.

"No, no, no! It's fine. Just it usually takes a while for people to start talking to her." He beamed at her, and was gratified to see her smile back. Though he shouldn't be! "Come on!" he took her hand in his and pulled her outside.

* * *

Sure enough, the voice's threat was real. Rose's old flat was spitting plumes of smoke from every window. "We need to evacuate the building," he told her.

"The fire department?" she suggested. Even now, they heard the sirens of the London fire department. She was very unsettled. "Look, I don't like to risk my neck for anybody!"

"Rose would!" he took off without her.

The Doctor was busy looking for clues, accelerator, anything. "Fire department's here," a voice spoke up. He jumped, a little surprised that she was there. "The flats are empty."

"Good. I'm done here." He walked out.

"Find anything, hanging out in the flames?"

He shook his head. "Hints but not enough."

"Alien hints?"

"How else did he get your phone number?"

"Probably explains the lack of trace. Had Jack run one."

"Very good, Torchwood!"

"But how'd he get my, uh, former address?" The Doctor shot her an annoyed look. "I'm not the only Rose Tyler in the universe, you know."

"Obviously."

"Me guess is: he knows you and he wants to piss you off… I'm not your only companion."

The Doctor glared at her for a moment. "Sarah Jane Smith!"

"Martha Jones," Rose remarked, at the same time. "She's here. In London. Uh… visiting her parents."

"Come on, I got a car nearby. Well, got tired of the bus, didn't I?"

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "Didn't you just." He followed her anyway and found a little Beetle parked nearby. It looked like it hadn't been used for a while. "How long were you in Torchwood?"

"Couple of weeks," she replied, getting in and putting on her seatbelt. She waited until he buckled his seatbelt, which he did after a glare.

* * *

Martha's was closer and Rose actually knew where it was, besides, Sarah Jane had been on her own for a while, maybe the arsonist was more of a recent grudge. She gave The Doctor her phone to call her in case.

Apparently, she and her son were fine and so was Martha, who turned out to be handy with the fire extinguisher. In fact, she had found the accelerant before it started the fire and froze it. "Excellent, Martha Jones!" The Doctor enthused.

Francine gave him a half-hearted glare, not liking the pain and trouble he represented, but knowing it wasn't quite fair to blame him for it. "Who's she?"

"This is Rose Tyler!" Martha told her. She blinked at The Doctor's reaction. "She's a friend."

"Francine Jones."

"Hi. What have we got, Doctor?"

"It's disarmed now," he replied, getting up. "I suppose you people want to cannibalise it now." He headed back to the car.

Rose and Martha exchanged a look. "All yours," Rose told her, indicating the device and then The Doctor.

Rose gave a final polite nod to Francine before trailing after Martha. "Doctor!" Martha called him. "Martha, do you know this woman?"

Martha was genuinely dismayed and confused at his anger. "Yeah… of course I do," she turned to Rose. "Doesn't he know?"

"Thinks he's funny. Did you hear or see anything?"

"No, it was just sorta there."

"Huh. Ok." Over across the road was a woman in a little blue van. She saw Rose looking over at her and drove off. "Come on. I wanna check on Sarah Jane. I mean, if the thing just 'appears'…"

"Ok."

"I'd better…" she pointed at the accelerator, still by Francine's side. Rose nodded and she pulled The Doctor aside. "Hey, Doctor… look. You know… I mean, I know what you know and what everybody else knows, you know, all that is known. Do you know what I'm saying?"

"No, you're babbling, Martha!" Rose was blowing the Beetle's horn.

"Doctor! Come on!" The Doctor groaned in frustration. Martha was about to give him the key when time was of the essence. "Before I die of waiting?"

"Martha, we'll continue this later!" He got into the Beetle, which immediately sped off.

"Ok, we should be looking at our past history… I say 'we'!"

"Hey, I'm good with the history!" she shot back. "Uh… what about Lumec?"

"Lumec?" he repeated, wondering quite how she had access to that name. "Lumec was not an arsonist. He created the Cybermen. And is dead."

"On that side! What about this one?"

"Well, he's not mad at me on this side! And he still might be dead."

"Ok, uh… I'm thinking, uh…"

"About Davros?"

"No! He created the Daleks, he does not set fires, Doctor."

"I know!"

"Why'd ya say it then? That's just not helpful!"

This woman's going to take another ten years off my life! "I was…!"

"The Slitheen?"

"No, it's a little petty for them." Rose gave him a funny look. "Well, I mean, there's no profit for them, is there? Revenge?"

"Not a vengeful bunch. Gotcha. Lazarus?"

"Giant bug and also dead."

"His assistant?"

The Doctor blinked. "I think he ate her. You're clutching at straws!"

"You're the one who came up with Davros!" The Doctor was quickly developing a headache. Rose frowned. "What did you call that starter… the trigger… what the hell do you call that stuff that gets the fire going?"

"The accelerant?"

"The accelerant!" She paused. "Don't tell me. Two and a half years ago, we were home for the weekend, Mum's birthday, and we got a guy… Zoltan Motherwell. Face value it looked like he was another fan boy, right?"

"Yes… but the trail widened and turned out to be a pattern," The Doctor prompted. He wasn't sure who this woman was but she did want to help.

"Right, he was setting fire to government buildings, shops and even trying setting the Thames on fire! He was on some psycho mission against alien residue or something."

"And each time the accelerant was…?"

"Alien tech!"

"In this case, a toaster!"

"A toaster? I set a toaster on fire once. Not an alien toaster though."

"I wouldn't have thought so. Where are we going?"

"Zoltan's checked in the local asylum."

"A dead end?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I got a feeling."

"A feeling?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling. You're logic, I'm feeling. You know that, Doctor."

* * *

They arrived shortly at the Mental Institution. "Ok, this is how we're going to play this. You do the legwork, I'll hang in the background."

"Don't want to be seen?" The Doctor smirked.

"I'll be seen when I need to be seen," Rose replied.

"I see."

"What do you mean? 'I see'?"

"Well, Rose and I were the one who met him before. Worried he won't recognise you?"

They arrived at the desk. "You know something? You're a Doubting Thomas," she looked at the receptionist as she handed him the sign in sheet. "Have you got the files I ordered, please?"

"Yeah, here you go."

"Thank you," she turned back to The Doctor. "You see. We're like a one-two punch. You set 'em up, I knock 'em down. You set 'em up, I knock 'em down."

* * *

The Doctor thought about that while he walked to the room. Really? Probably just using it as an excuse to not talk to Zoltan, he decided. As he entered the room, he noticed Rose go immediately to a dark corner of the room, out of the restricted eye line of the patient stuck in the strait jacket. He seemed pleased enough to see him, which boded well.

"I have no regrets, Doctor," he told him. "I now live a life of simplicity and purpose. I couldn't live this life when I was a slave. Do you understand me?"

"No, not really. You were a slave to…?"

"Everything. To everything. Canvas, paint, dealers, galleries, fashion, falsehood. Especially falsehood. Aliens were here on Earth. No terrorism. A slave, until... Come here... Closer… closer…"

The Doctor smiled. "I think this is close enough."

"Until I realised it could be reduced to ashes. Wiped clean."

"Uh. Interesting."

"Interesting," Rose repeated, obviously not finding anything interesting at all. "I don't believe this."

"Who's she?"

"That's a good question. My problem, sir, is someone seems to be continuing your work. On a far more personal front. My friend's flat was burned down, leaving its people homeless."

"Oh, that's tragic. But that's the nature of artistic movements. I was merely the first great performance arsonist. Of course, there'll be followers, imitators, possibly a school…"

"Ok, that's enough!" Rose jumped out from the shadows. "You see, my friend here, is an alien. His opinion of what's normal is not normal."

"Hey!"

"He'll let you ramble on about his namby-pamby art crap," Rose ignored him. "But me? I don't know what art is. But I know what I like, and you, dirtball, I don't like."

"Who are you?"

"Hey, shut up! You look into my eyes! You look deep into my eyes! What do you see? You see the guy? Do you see the guy? The guy that put you in here?! Right?! Right?! Right?! Right?!" He nodded. Clever, The Doctor thought, if slightly shady ethically speaking. "Good!... Let's talk about his copycat torch that's walking the streets that's got your signature, which means you know the torch."

"I'm locked up, Inspector!" Zoltan replied. Hmm, there's a thought, The Doctor pondered. It would fit. "What could I possibly do from here?"

"Ok, I got a phone log here," she indicated the file in her hands. "Three phone calls made by you. Two by payphone. One to a mobile. In Wales. Cardiff, my workplace, my office, my phone! In fact! I picked up the phone, concerning my flat! Also found this!" She tossed the device The Doctor's way.

"Possibly," Motherwell replied, his shrug restricted slightly by the strait jacket.

"Possibly. Visitors Log," she indicated the file again. "One visitor, marked 'girlfriend' with no name. Now you cough up a name or it is all aboard for fun time, and I will kick your head all over this room!" She was right up into his face.

"I think I need to see my solicitor," Motherwell remarked to The Doctor, somewhat fearful of Rose.

"Sure, you'll get to see your attorney, right after I break your jaw!"

"Is she going to hit me?" he asked him.

The Doctor shrugged. "I really don't know her all that well."

"I'm going to break your jaw! But first, let's talk about your girlfriend."

"I have nothing to say!"

"Gentlemen!" Rose stripped off her coat and tossed it to The Doctor. "Five."

"It's ridiculous!"

"Four!" Her fist was at the ready.

"She's going to hit me!" he pleaded to The Doctor.

"Three."

"I don't think so…" The Doctor pondered.

"Two!"

"But I could be wrong!"

"One," she pulled back her fist.

"No! Wait, wait, wait. All right! What do you want to know?"

Rose dropped her fist. "How about a name?"

"Judy Dench."

"A real name!"

"Judy Dench! It's a real name. She has a thing, an obsession, with privacy. She changed it legally!"

"Where?"

He gave them the address. The landlord had no qualms about letting them in. "Here are the detonators all right. Two missing."

"Smith," Rose told him.

They ran out. "Hold on."

"What?"

"The torch! She's here!" She took off. They raced for the car and sped off after. "I don't believe this! She's followed us every step of the way. Up the street from my flat, at the mental institution, and now here!"

"Left."

"Look, I'm not blind. I can see. Ok, so now we are following you. You been watching your handiwork but now we are behind you."

A thought occurred to The Doctor. "Uh… don't mean to rain on your parade, but technically she can still watch her handiwork."

"How? We're following her in a car!"

"Exactly. She can use her rear view mirror! Watch us burst into flames!" he echoed this last with his hands.

"Burst into flames…" Rose echoed.

"Stay with the van. Don't lose her."

Now Rose stole a look at him. "What do you mean, don't lose her? We can go up at any time… what are you doing?"

"I'm looking for the detonator!"

"How about we stop the car to look for the detonator?"

"That van is heading for Sarah Jane and her son. Keep going." He pulled himself out the window.

"Look, you know something, you're a freak," Rose remarked, too concentrated on her driving to realise. "But in spite of that, I'm going to tell you something. This may not be the best time but I'd like to say it before we go up in smoke. I feel a little pink about it 'cause I realise no one talked to you. Number one, I'm not the girl that you think. Number two, I was sent…" She swerved into another lane and several cars beeped their displeasure, knocking out whatever she said. "Number three, you know, this was not my ambition to be, you know, driving in a molotov cocktail with an alien on the roof. It just was not part of a normal desire. Not for me, anyway. I had other things in mind… Doctor! Doc…! They said he was agile - he's not agile. He fell off the car." He reappeared beside the driver's window, surprising her. "Hey! Hey, are you with me?"

"You bet," he grunted, before continuing on his travels across the car hood.

"Ok. Good. Well, the upshot is I go in and they say, hey, you want a job and I go... I was weak, I was down. I say, well, I'll think about it." The Doctor scanned the engine with his sonic screwdriver.

"And I'm thinking about it. Hey, my life's not great at the moment. I think maybe I can use a change, a change of scene, a change of luck, go undercover, get a new life. Then they say, do you want to work with this guy…"

"She's turning right!" The Doctor called back.

"Ok, simple problem." He had to hang on for dear life as Rose swerved to follow. "That's about it. I mean, I could say more, but that is how I got here. So what do you think?" she asked him as he climbed back into the passenger seat.

"Nothing."

Rose was affronted. "Nothing? I spill my guts and 'nothing'?"

"What?"

"What I was just saying, you didn't hear any of it?"

"I was on top of the car! Wind! Really, you humans and conversations in… What is she doing?"

"She's slowing down," Rose replied, having to slow herself. She sounded her horn.

"Wait!" The Doctor called out. Too late. Smoke began to bellow out from the driver's seat.

"Ok, I guess we've found the detonator," Rose remarked.

"Yup!"

"Ok, this is where I get out."

"Nope!"

"Yup, Doctor! Our work is done here."

"Stay in the car!"

"Look…" The Doctor tried to root to the detonator. "Doctor, what are you doing? Do not touch my inner thigh or calf!"

"Get your foot off the brake," he muttered back.

"I'm trying to stop!"

"You can't stop the car!"

"Not with you holding onto my leg, I can't!"

"Wait. It is too dangerous. Innocent people are about."

"This is London. They are used to burning cars! They're usually not moving! Look, I do not risk my neck for anybody," The Doctor didn't respond. "Look, the car's going to blow!"

"It is not. It is very, very, very rare that a car ever actually explodes." The car blew up. "Huh, what kind of car is this? Shame you haven't got a fire extinguisher," he added as the flames began to lick at him.

"I am all over that!" Rose agreed, her fingers jumping on and off the wheel as it grew hotter.

"We've got to find a safe place to stick this car."

"Uh… fire department?"

"Know where it is?"

Rose stared at him. You bring this up when we're on fire? "Of course, I know."

"Good! Because I think the A to Z is gone." He looked at the plumes of smoke starting to tumble out of the glove box.

Rose saw a carwash. "Ah! Got it!"

"Good thinking."

"What is this, some kind of super fire?"

"Maybe the hot wax option wasn't the best idea."

Rose shot him an embarrassed look. "I panicked. Now what?"

"The River Thames."

"Gotcha." Fortunately, they were near the docklands, with no one around, so it was clear. "Straight in?"

"Straight in."

"Listen, in case something happens, I just want you to know, it's been a pleasure meeting you."

"Ah, so you admit we've never met."

Rose smiled. "I'm not admitting anything," she told him, even as the river came ever closer.

"Sure?"

"Absolutely."

They were at the edge. "I mean it. It's been weird, but it's been a pleasure."

The Doctor smiled at her. "Yeah." The car went through the flimsy stack of crates and, in a hail of rubber ducks and flame, crashed into the Thames. It floated for a second, before finally going down.

On dry land, a blue van pulled up. Its occupant, an unhealthy woman with stringy hair, got out, her eyes watching the upsurge of air bubbles and ducks. Judy Dench lifted a cigarette to her lips and lit it. Pulling in a breath of ash, she slipped it out of her mouth and blew, her lips forming a smirk.

It vanished as soon as she heard the splash of water. A man's hand braced itself on the side and pushed into the ground. The Doctor pulled himself up halfway before bring his other hand up, this one filled with the woman's t-shirt. The woman coughed and spluttered for a bit before allowing herself be helped into a standing position. "Rose?" The Doctor warned.

She looked at the other woman, a gun now in her hand, pointing at them. "He's a fine painter," Judy said.

"Lower the gun, Miss Dench," The Doctor ordered.

"A great artist!"

"Like the man said. Put the gun down."

"And I'm continuing on his work," she finished.

"I said! Put the gun down!" Rose ordered in a shout, even as she stepped in front of The Doctor. Judy fired. Rose went down.

Enraged, The Doctor converged on Judy and disarmed her, even as the emergency services arrived.

"Rose," he went back to the young woman, now lying prone on the ground. "Rose! Rose!"

"Ta dah!" she pulled up her shirt with a laugh.

"Bullet proof vest," The Doctor smiled, with relief and a kind of admiration.

"You called me 'Rose'," she smiled up at him.

"No, I didn't," he retorted.

"Yes, you did."

"Nope."

"Yes!"

The Doctor grinned at her again. "It was a mistake. Come on." He pulled her up.

"You know I'm Rose. Don't fight it, dear Doctor."

"You are not Rose! You don't even look like her!"

"I could have had plastic surgery!"

"You could also be insane!"

"I got papers to prove it! I'll show you."

"I don't want to see them."

"I'm Rose!"

"If you're Rose, where were you born?"

Her hand went to her sternum. "Ah, that smarts when you get shot."

"Aha! You see? See?"

"You two ok?" An ambulance man asked them. They nodded.

A policeman stopped them. "Hold on there."

"We're fine," The Doctor insisted.

"Very good, sir. But you still covered half of London in a flaming car."

"Well, she was the one who blew us up!" Rose protested. "We got rid of the car as soon as we could without risking people near it! The car was aflame with me still in it! But pedestrians were afoot so…"

"Well, you can tell us down at the station. Come on."

* * *

"You know, somehow, I didn't think my next visit to London would be to a police station," Jack smirked. "Then I remembered that it is you, Doctor."

"Get us out of here, Jack," The Doctor moaned.

Jack nodded to the officer nearby who opened the cell. The pair walked quietly out. "I'll, uh, go get your sonic screwdriver back," Rose volunteered, heading for the desk sergeant.

"That woman, is not Rose Tyler!" The Doctor insisted, once she was out of ear shot, daring Jack to say different.

Jack laughed. "You Timelords have an uncanny power of observation."

"Thank you!" The Doctor replied, more out of relief that he'd found someone to agree with him, rather than anything else.

"Of course she's not Rose Tyler! I've been trying to get to you to talk to you about this. There's an operation going on. This operation comes from way up the ladder. Details are kinda sketchy, but all we need to know is: someone's after Rose Tyler. Someone powerful. Something 'Bad Wolf', Doctor."

"That's a little vague, Jack."

"You're telling me. They're not even telling Martha much. She," he indicated Rose. "Knows no more than the bare details." The Doctor shook his head in disbelief at this. "Listen, Doctor, I want you to give this girl a fair shot. She's something special."

I do not risk my neck for anybody. "She's also a liar," The Doctor remarked.

Jack smiled knowingly. "She got to you, didn't she?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes before walking up to her. She handed him his screwdriver. "Ever been to Madrid?"

"The city?"

The Doctor grinned. "The planet."


End file.
